Student one step closer to seeing shoe design

Ambitious Footwear Design student Heidi Henderson has landed a place in the final five of an international competition which could see her shoes sold on the high street for a top brand.

Heidi, 21, from Diss in Norfolk, is a final year student at De Montfort University (DMU) in Leicester, and has been shortlisted in the top five finalists of the Shoeperstar competition run by HushPuppies.

Drawing inspiration from a recent purchase she made of a vintage birdcage, Heidi’s shoe design, named Freedom, focuses on the bright colours and interesting forms of Parrots.

Heidi, who says she was also influenced by artists Francis Bacon and David Hockney, added: “I wanted to design a shoe for women who like to feel good and stand out from the crowd.

“With the concept of birds being trapped in cages, I alternatively wanted to convey freedom and boldness in my design and felt that the beauty and vibrant colours of Parrots portrayed this well.”

Not only have the finalists won free shoes for a year courtesy of Schuh (12 pairs up to £75 each); a styling session worth £500 with A-list celebrity stylist and Shoeperstar judge Rachel Fanconi; plus event tickets for Heart Radio, they now also have exclusive access to a mentoring process with Hush Puppies’ expert designers to refine their shoe creations.

They will then present their finished designs to the judging panel at the final event on Thursday 29 October 2009 where the winner will be chosen and announced.

The overall winner will have their shoe made by Hush Puppies and sold exclusively in top high street retailer Schuh.

The winner will see first hand how to turn their dream shoe into a reality and ultimately see shoe lovers buying and wearing their designs across the UK.

Touching on her success, Heidi said: “It feels fantastic to have got this far in the competition, and I am really pleased that my shoe design has been recognised as having the potential to hit high street shoe sales. This has been an amazing experience and has given me the best head-start in my career as a shoe designer!”

As well as Rachel Fanconi, a style consultant who has worked with celebrities such as David Beckham, Jessica Simpson, Dame Helen Mirren, judges include: David Rist, Managing Director of Hush Puppies UK; Nicky Shallcross, Ladies buyer for Shuh; Ellspeth Robson, designer at Hush Puppies and Emma Boughton, Heart Radio DJ.

DMU’s unique BA (Hons) Footwear Design course is the only specialist footwear degree in the UK and has won support from celebrity shoe designer Jimmy Choo, who holds an Honorary Doctorate from the University: http://www.dmu.ac.uk/success/television-adverts/jimmy-choo.jsp

For further information or images of Heidi’s shoe, please contact De Montfort University Press Office on 0116 207 8099 or news@dmu.ac.uk

De Montfort University’s Press Office is now on Twitter. Follow us at www.twitter.com/dmupressoffice

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
•